Starting in the mid-1990’s, a series of national studies indicated an alarming lack of quality child care for infants and toddlers. In order to address this need, the Department of Human Services partnered with the Colorado Department of Education and convened a statewide group of stakeholders with expertise in infant toddler development and care. This effort grew into the Expanding Quality in Infant Toddler Care (EQ) Initiative, which launched in 1999 and is housed at the Colorado Department of Education.

The primary goal of the EQ Initiative is to increase the quality and availability of responsive care for infants and toddlers throughout Colorado by:

Strengthening the skills and knowledge base of Early Childhood professionals working with infants and toddlers

Facilitating professional development for infant toddler professionals, particularly those who are teaching or coaching infant toddler teachers

Building capacity and promoting systemic change to foster increased quality and availability of care and services for infants, toddlers, and their families

The EQ Initiative is best known for the EQIT 48-hour course of training which uses a hands-on, face to face model that promotes reflection, and develops a strong sense of community and trust among attendees. The EQIT course includes 16, 3-hour modules that promote an understanding of infant toddler development, safe and appropriate environments, and emphasizes the critical importance of healthy, responsive relationships among providers, parents, and infants/toddlers. In addition to the 16 modules, most EQIT course participants take advantage of onsite coaching to help them incorporate what they are learning into their programs and classrooms. Instructors for the EQIT course are locally based and must complete an intensive 70+ hour Training of Trainers course prior to working with their Early Childhood Councils to offer the EQIT course. EQIT Coaches must complete additional training prior to coaching EQIT course participants.

Triad Early Childhood Council has had over 300 people complete this course!